Would you buy a house with a toilet in an open-plan room?

i wouldnt buy a house like that but it does remind of a neighbour who sold up and of course being nosy i checked it out on right move and saw it had a toilet in the conservatory?....its a 2 bed bugalow lol

Only just seen this, just to say most of the people on here are a bit nuts and must have bowel problems! Our (only) bathroom is off our kitchen, its a 1900 terraced house and many of them are like this, so, its not a box in the middle of an open plan room but it does open directly into the kitchen. Modern toilets dont smell once flushed and it has an extractor fan anyway. I think its very weird that people are so scared that others know they are going to the toilet,like its something that we dont all do a number of times a day 🤣

No way. Our kitchen has got a utility room with a door into it and then a downstairs loo off it. That’s fine in my opinion as the kitchen is quite large so you can’t hear anything. If it had been in the middle of the kitchen we wouldn’t have bought the house.

Depends where the central soil pipe is - it may be connected to the back but I think it’s more likely to run down the side.

It’s not clear if the kitchen dining room is a (one storey?) extension in which case the soil pipe to that toilet may be a branch.

In any case a macerator and pump means you don’t need gravity drain pipes or major floor and concrete excavation.

Maybe it’ll be a back passage! 🤣

The confusion about the regulations is that they have changed. It used to be the case that you could have a toilet off a kitchen area. Now if you have a wash basin + extractor can you can.

I think some developers take pride in the most stupid placement of their development as well as creation of most ridiculous spaces. Like the 2 bedrooms upstairs when there was no need to make the landing bigger and create awkward angles.... As well as what you mentioned.

Looking at that kitchen diner with horror

Where on earth would you put a table? There's 6 doors into that kitchen! You might be able to fit one of those 4 seat space saver Ikea ones where the chairs slot under the table but that's it

What a terrible design.

As has been pointed out multiple times, one door is fine.

I once bought a new build house where the downstairs toilet was under the stairs and came off the dining area improve the kitchen dining room. It’s a legal requirement for new homes to have a downstairs toilet and we were pretty much told when we bought it that it would be easy to take out. ‘That’s the only place it would fit and legally we have to put one in’.

It was our first house and we were young and poor so we put a low bookcase in front on the toilet and used it for shoes but pretty much every other house had the toilet removed as soon as they moved in.

Cancel the cheque!

I think I can sort of see your logic for want to open it up to be a bit arier if the house is that old.

Have you paid for the structural engineer to do the load calcs yet/ has the builder ordered the steels to put in when he takes the walls out yet? I assume that will be an enormous cost if you're having to replace a wall that thick & have 2 RSJs to keep the ceiling/roof up instead?

So just opening up the doorways to be a bit wider would let more light around & mean you can be semi-connected between rooms, but 2 big doorway lintels would cost far less than full length RSJs.

This kind of externally hung sliding door set might give you more light & a nice big doorway into the kitchen - but still leaves the option of closing itoff to manage (kitchen!) smells and draughts when you want to. Having a stack of 2 or 3 telescoping doors might be an option to have a nice wide opening into the dining room - just build it out against the wall after widening the door opening.

That has to be a better option than spending megabucks on RSJs to go properly open plan, for sure!

Nope. Not if there's a basin for washing hands in the toilet/lootility.

I'm intrigued by the shower being "above" the toilet! Cannot picture this!

We had very similar layout in a previous home & no one would use the toilet if we were having family meals, guests over etc. it was just too awkward to get up and go into the loo in front of everyone, then out again to an audience! Walls were thick, so no noise but it was very off putting, especially for visitors. We’re not there anymore!

Lots of people on this thread confusing domestic regulations with workplace and commercial building regulations relating to food safety. The latter require an 'airlock' - so double doors or ventilated space - to separate toilets from food prep spaces, no such rules exist for domestic properties.

They'd realize OP is of flesh and blood. The shock! The horror!

I suppose they could always install a Japanese toilet complete with "noise" button to cater to sensitive minds.

I thought regulations required 2 doors between loo and kitchen I.e the loo door and another entrance to any kitchen area

No I wouldn’t. I have the same problem as you in my house. Are the two rooms similar in size or is one bigger than the other? Currently my kitchen is tiny and the lounge is big so I’m planning to swap the rooms around. Could be a cheap solution if that is part of the problem. But if you are set on open plan then I think you need a solution for the toilet!

I don’t see what you’d gain by knocking those walls down, or even partially knocking them down, and you lose so much. The house layout is best as it is.

It’s not ideal. I’ve seen that sort of thing in several new build townhouses recently. I’m not saying I wouldn’t buy it because it’s not enough to put me off if there are other good things about the property, but I can’t imagine actually wanting to use that bathroom! It would be fine if there are enough other bathrooms in the house.

I dont like any open planned homes im a fan of doors.

Persimmon are building a new build house called the Gisburn where the toilet is in the kitchen.

I didn’t think it was allowed but it clearly is. I did put us off buying it though.

A house local to me was recently on Rightmove that was pretty much that! A loo in a reception room. No doors. No privacy. Just a plumbed in loo in the lounge!

I'm sure it would have IF multiple people on this thread hadn't already pointed out this building reg is no longer in place and hasn't been for more than three decades....